re are so many ways to reduce or eliminate your student loan debt. Here are a few of the loan forgiveness and repayment assistance programs out there and available to you! 1) Ness-Blatt Loan Repayment Assistance Program
The SCBar Foundation’s Loan Repayment Assistance program provides awards to lawyers who work for civil legal aid grantees of the Bar Foundation. Find out more about the Ness-Blatt Loan Repayment Assistance Program.
2) College Cost Reduction and Access Act – Public Service Loan Forgiveness*
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is great for public interest lawyers! Public Service Loan Forgiveness is a program established by the College Cost Reduction & Access Act that offers loan forgiveness after 10 years of working in public service. Qualifying public service employment is full-time paid work in the federal government; a 501(c)(3) nonprofit; an AmeriCorps position; the Peace Corps; or for a private “public service organization.”
3) College Cost Reduction and Access Act – Income-Based Repayment*
The College Cost Reduction & Access Act also established the Income-Based Repayment option. Normally, borrowers who earn less than they owe in federal student loans will be eligible to choose Income-Based Repayment.
4) Loan Repayment Assistance for Employees of Federal Agencies*
Federal agencies are authorized by 5 U.S.C. 5379 to create loan repayment programs so that they can recruit and retain highly qualified employees. In the past, 582 attorneys working in 20 different federal agencies received loan repayment assistance benefits (the Department of Justice provided benefits to 193 attorneys and the Securities and Exchange Commission provided benefits to 188 attorneys).
Federal Agencies Providing Loan Repayment Assistance To Attorneys In Fiscal Year 2007
- Commerce
- Defense
- Energy
- Health and Human Services
- Homeland Security
- Housing and Urban Development
- Justice
- Labor
- State
- Transportation
- Treasury
- Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- Government Accountability Office
- International Trade Commission
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- National Mediation Board
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Office of Special Counsel
- Securities and Exchange Commission
5) The Higher Education Reauthorization and College Opportunity Act of 2008
The Higher Education Reauthorization and College Opportunity Act of 2008 establishes four new loan forgiveness and repayment programs that benefit public interest lawyers including the John R. Justice Prosecutors and Defenders Incentive Act, Loan Repayment for Civil Legal Assistance Attorneys, Loan Forgiveness for Service in Areas of National Need and Perkins Loan Cancellation for Public Service. Rules will be established by the federal agencies responsible for administering these programs and Equal Justice Works will post updates as this process moves forward.
- On October 21th, PILS will conduct a workshop on many topics central to your future in a public interest law career. One of the issues we’ll work with you on is getting some help repaying those loans. We will discuss the pros and cons of each program including what jobs qualify as “public interest” under a specific program’s definition.
- Here is a great resource from Equal Justice Works: Public Interest Loan Forgiveness Checklist
- On November 4th, Heather Jarvis from Equal Justice Works will be here presenting federal loan forgiveness options. Heather is a national expert on educational debt and the financial barriers facing law graduates.
*This information was obtained from Equal Justice Works at www.equaljusticeworks.com. Further information is available on their website.
